Washing machine

ABSTRACT

A washing machine is disclosed. The washing machine includes a cabinet, a drum rotatably installed in the cabinet, and a control panel assembly detachably mounted to a front surface of the cabinet. The control panel assembly includes a control panel directly defining at least a partial rim of the front surface of the cabinet, and a deco-member provided at one side of the control panel. The washing machine enables a reduction in assembly time and costs thereof.

This application claims the benefit of the Korean Patent Application No.10-2008-0017857, filed on Feb. 27, 2008, which is hereby incorporated byreference as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a washing machine, and moreparticularly, to a washing machine capable of reducing assembly time andcosts.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Generally, washing machines include a washing machine to wash, rinse anddehydrate an object to be washed, a drying machine to dry an objecthaving passed through a washing operation, and the like.

Most conventional washing machines have problems due to substantialassembly time and costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a washing machine.

An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machinecapable of reducing assembly time and costs.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may berealized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, awashing machine includes: a cabinet; a drum rotatably installed in thecabinet; and a control panel assembly detachably mounted to a frontsurface of the cabinet, wherein the control panel assembly includes; acontrol panel directly defining at least a partial rim of the frontsurface of the cabinet; and a deco-member provided at one side of thecontrol panel.

Here, the control panel may directly define an upper rim of the frontsurface of the cabinet, and the deco-member may include a pair ofdeco-members provided at both sides of the control panel.

Specifically, the deco-members may be detachably connected to thecontrol panel. For this, the control panel may be provided at both sidesthereof with connectors, to which the deco-members are connected.

In this case, each of the connectors may have one or more fasteningholes, and the corresponding deco-member may have fastening bossescorresponding to the fastening holes. Meanwhile, the connector may haveone or more guide members to guide movement of the deco-member uponmounting of the deco-member, and the deco-member may have one or moreguide ribs corresponding to the guide members, the guide ribs serving toreinforce a strength of the deco-member.

The connector may be tilted by a predetermined angle and specifically,the connector may be tilted such that an upper portion of the connectorprotrudes further forward than a lower portion of the connector. In thiscase, the deco-member may have a pivoting protruding portion to be hungon an upper end of the connector. Also, the connector may have one ormore stepped portions.

The connector may have a recessed portion, and the deco-member may haveone or more protruding portions corresponding to the recessed portion.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a washing machine according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a washing machine according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a side portion of a controlpanel assembly shown in FIG. 2, prior to mounting a deco-member thereto;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a control panel shown in FIG.3 after mounting a deco-member thereto;

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the deco-member shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the control panel assembly;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a mounting portion of a frontpanel shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the control panel assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. It is notedthat the term a “washing machine” is used herein as including a washingmachine to wash, rinse and dehydrate an object to be washed, a dryingmachine to dry an object having passed through a washing operation, andthe like.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a washing machine according toan embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, upon assembly of the washing machine, a controlpanel 10, provided to control operations of the washing machine, islocated at a front surface of the washing machine and more particularly,is located in an upper portion of a front panel 20. More specifically,an exterior member 14 defining a rim is first installed to the upperportion of the front panel 20 and then, the control panel 10 is mountedinside the exterior member 14.

In the above-described assembly method, since the exterior member 14 isinstalled prior to assembling the control panel 10, the number ofassembling processes disadvantageously increases. Further, since thecontrol panel 10 is mounted inside the exterior member 14 installed onthe front panel 20, installation of the exterior member 14 requires verydelicate work. In addition, mounting the control panel 10 inside theexterior member 14 is difficult and makes it difficult to separate thecontrol panel 10 later.

Hereinafter, a washing machine according to another embodiment of thepresent invention to solve the above-described problems will bedescribed.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a washing machine 100according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the washing machine 100 according to the presentembodiment includes a cabinet 110 defining the exterior appearance ofthe washing machine, a drum 120 rotatably installed in the cabinet 110,and a control panel assembly 130 detachably installed at a front surfaceof the cabinet 110. Specifically, in the washing machine according tothe present embodiment, instead of installing the exterior member andcontrol panel separately, the control panel assembly 130 of singlemodule type is mounted, achieving a reduction in assembly time and costsof the washing machine. The control panel assembly 130 will be describedin detail hereinafter.

The cabinet 110 defines the exterior appearance of the washing machineand more particularly, includes a base (not shown), a side panel 112, afront panel 114 and a top cover 113. Here, the side panel 112 may beformed of a single member, or a rear panel defining a rear surface ofthe cabinet 110 may be formed by a separate member.

The drum 120, which receives an object to be washed, is rotatablyinstalled in the cabinet 110. The configuration of the drum 120 is wellknown to those skilled in the art and thus, a detailed descriptionthereof will be omitted.

The control panel assembly 130 according to the present embodimentincludes a control panel 140 defining at least a partial rim of thefront surface of the washing machine, and a decorative member 160(hereinafter, simply referred to as a “deco-member”) provided on atleast one side of the control panel 140.

In the present embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, the control panel 140directly defines at least a partial rim of the front surface of thewashing machine. Specifically, the control panel 140 directly defines atleast a partial rim of the front surface of the cabinet 110, rather thanbeing surrounded by the exterior member defining a rim of the frontsurface of the washing machine. A pair of deco-members 160 is providedon at least one side of the control panel 140, and more particularly,provided on at both sides of the control panel 140. The control panelassembly 130 consists of both the control panel 140 and deco-members160.

The deco-members 160 are provided at both sides of the control panel 140and consequently, directly define at least a partial rim of the frontsurface of the washing machine, and more particularly, at least apartial side rim of the front surface of the washing machine.

Accordingly, in the present embodiment, instead of installing thecontrol panel 140 and deco-members 160 separately, the deco-members 160are first mounted to the control panel 140 to define the single moduletype control panel assembly 130 and thereafter, the control panelassembly 130 is mounted to the front panel 114 of the cabinet 110. Thisenables a remarkable reduction in assembly processes and time.Hereinafter, the configuration of the control panel assembly 130 will bedescribed in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a side portion ofthe control panel 140 shown in FIG. 2, prior to mounting the deco-member160 thereto, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating thecontrol panel 140 after mounting the deco-member 160 thereto.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, when the control panel 140 according to thepresent embodiment is mounted to the front panel (114, see FIG. 2), thecontrol panel 140 directly defines an upper rim of the cabinet (110, seeFIG. 2).

The deco-members 160, provided at both sides of the control panel 140,may be detachably provided for the purpose of easy assembly. For this,the control panel 140 is provided at both sides thereof with connectors142 to be connected with the deco-members 160, respectively.

Each of the connectors 142 extends from a body 141 of the control panel140, and is perforated with one or more fastening holes 144 forconnection of the corresponding deco-member 160. As screws (not shown)are fastened to the deco-member 160 through the fastening holes 144, thedeco-member 160 is fixed to the control panel 140.

The connector 142, which extends from either side of the control panel140, is formed with one or more guide members 146. The guide members 146serve to guide the deco-member 160 upon mounting of the deco-member 160.

The guide members 146 extend from the connector 142 in a mountingdirection of the deco-member 160, thereby guiding movement of guide ribs162 formed at the deco-member 160 that will be described hereinafter.Specifically, when the deco-member 160 is mounted to either side of thecontrol panel 140, the guide ribs 162 provided at the deco-member 160are located immediately above the guide members 146 of the connector142, preventing the deco-member 160 from sagging. Also, when thedeco-member 160 is moved toward the connector 142, the guide ribs 162are moved along upper surfaces of the guide members 146, guidingmovement of the deco-member 160.

The connector 142 may be attached to the side of the control panel 140,so as to be tilted by a predetermined angle. More particularly, theconnector 142 may be tilted such that an upper portion thereof protrudesfurther forward than a lower portion thereof. Accordingly, upon mountingof the deco-member 160, a pivoting protruding portion (164, see FIG. 5)formed at an upper position of the deco-member 160 is able to be hung onan upper end of the connector 142, allowing the deco-member 160 to bepivotally rotated downward and mounted to the connector 142. With thetilted connector 142 having a predetermined inclination angle and theabove-described guide members 146, the deco-member 160 can be easilymounted at an accurate position.

The connector 142 may have at least one stepped portion 148. Providingthe connector 142 with the stepped portion 148 can accomplish anincreased strength of the connector 142. In addition, the connector 142has a recessed portion 149 such that a protruding portion (168, see FIG.5) of the deco-member 160 is inserted into the recessed portion 149 ofthe connector 142 upon mounting of the deco-member 160, preventing thedeco-member 160 from sagging and allowing the deco-member 160 to belocated at an accurate position.

In conclusion, in the washing machine according to the presentembodiment, both the guide members 146 of the connector 142 and theprotruding portion 168 of the deco-member 160 form a double safetymechanism to prevent the deco-member 160 from sagging and consequently,to allow the deco-member 160 to be located at an accurate position.

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the deco-member 160 shown in FIG.4.

Referring to FIG. 5, the deco-member 160 may have an approximatelyhexahedral shape and an open rear surface, although the presentinvention is not limited thereto.

The one or more guide ribs 162, which correspond to the above-describedguide members 146 of the connector 142, are arranged in an interiorspace of the deco-member 160. Specifically, the guide ribs 162 extendwidthwise in the deco-member 160, serving not only to increase thestrength of the deco-member 160, but also to guide movement of thedeco-member 160 in cooperation with the guide members 146 of theconnector 142 to thereby prevent the deco-member 160 from sagging. Theconfigurations of the guide ribs 162 and guide members 146 have beendescribed above and thus, a repetitive description thereof will beomitted.

The deco-member 160 may have fastening bosses 166 corresponding to thefastening holes 144 of the connector 142. The fastening bosses 166 arepositioned to correspond to the respective fastening holes 144, allowingthe deco-member 160 to come into close contact with the connector 142without a gap when being coupled using screws, etc.

In addition, of both sidewalls 170 and 172 of the deco-member 160, thepivoting protruding portion 164 is formed at an upper position of thesidewall 172 adjacent to the control panel (140, see FIG. 3) and theprotruding portion 168 is formed at a lower position of the sidewall172. As described above, the pivoting protruding portion 164 is hung onthe upper end of the connector 142 and serves as a rotating center ofthe deco-member 160 when the deco-member 160 is pivotally rotated andmounted to the connector 142. Upon mounting of the deco-member 160,furthermore, the protruding portion 168 comes into contact with the topof the recessed portion 149 of the connector 142, preventing thedeco-member 160 from sagging and allowing the deco-member 160 to belocated at an accurate position.

Hereinafter, an operation for mounting the deco-member 160 to thecontrol panel 140 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

First, the pivoting protruding portion 164, formed at the upper positionof the deco-member 160, is hung on the upper end of the connector 142via manual operation of a worker. Then, as the worker pivotally rotatesthe deco-member 160 downward, the deco-member 160 is mounted to thecontrol panel 140. During pivotal rotation of the deco-member 160, theguide ribs 162 of the deco-member 160 are moved on the upper surfaces ofthe guide members 146, enabling guidance of movement of the deco-member160.

When the deco-member 160 comes into contact with the connector 142, theprotruding portion 168 of the deco-member 160 is inserted into therecessed portion 149 of the connector 142, preventing the deco-member160 from sagging and allowing the deco-member 160 to be located at anaccurate position.

After the deco-member 160 is accurately positioned, the worker cancouple the deco-member 160 to the connector 142 by fastening screwsthrough the fastening holes 144.

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the control panel assembly 130,and FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a mounting portion 116 ofthe front panel 114 on which the control panel assembly 130 is mounted.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the control panel assembly 130 and cabinet110 are provided with a positioning structure to determine a mountingposition of the control panel assembly 130. Hereinafter, the positioningstructure will be described.

The positioning structure includes first and second recesses 174 and 176defined in the bottom of the control panel assembly 130, moreparticularly, in the bottom of the deco-member 160, and first and secondprotrusions 118 and 119 formed at the mounting portion 116 of the frontpanel 114 to correspond to the first and second recesses 174 and 176,respectively. Accordingly, when the control panel assembly 130 ismounted to the front panel 114, the first and second protrusions 118 and119 are inserted into the first and second recesses 174 and 176,respectively. The first and second protrusions 118 and 119 allow thecontrol panel assembly 130 to be mounted at an accurate position on themounting portion 116 of the front panel 114.

After the control panel assembly 130 is mounted on the mounting portion116 of the front panel 114, the control panel assembly 130 is fixedusing screws, etc. fastened through upper fastening holes thereof.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a rear surface of the controlpanel assembly 130. The control panel assembly 130 is connected to thefront panel 114 by means of a plurality of connecting bosses 150 formedat the rear surface thereof.

As apparent from the above description, in the washing machine accordingto the present invention, the control panel assembly is pre-assembled toconstruct a module, accomplishing a remarkable reduction in assemblytime and costs of the washing machine.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, itis intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1. A washing machine comprising: a cabinet; a drum rotatably provided inthe cabinet; and a control panel assembly detachably provided to a frontsurface of the cabinet, wherein the control panel assembly includes acontrol panel directly defining at least a partial rim of the frontsurface of the cabinet and a deco-member provided at one side of thecontrol panel.
 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein thecontrol panel directly defines an upper rim of the front surface of thecabinet.
 3. The washing machine according to claim 2, wherein thedeco-member includes a pair of deco-members provided at both sides ofthe control panel.
 4. The washing machine according to claim 3, whereinthe deco-members directly define at least a partial side rim of thefront surface of the cabinet.
 5. The washing machine according to claim3, wherein the deco-members are detachably provided to the controlpanel.
 6. The washing machine according to claim 5, wherein the controlpanel is provided at both sides thereof with connectors, to which thedeco-members are connected.
 7. The washing machine according to claim 6,wherein each of the connectors has one or more fastening holes, and thedeco-member has fastening bosses corresponding to the fastening holes.8. The washing machine according to claim 7, wherein the connector hasone or more guide members to guide movement of the deco-member uponmounting of the deco-member.
 9. The washing machine according to claim8, wherein the deco-member has one or more guide ribs corresponding tothe guide members, the guide ribs serving to reinforce strength of thedeco-member.
 10. The washing machine according to claim 9, wherein theconnector is tilted by a predetermined angle.
 11. The washing machineaccording to claim 10, wherein the connector is tilted such that anupper portion of the connector protrudes further forward than a lowerportion of the connector.
 12. The washing machine according to claim 11,wherein the deco-member has a pivoting protruding portion to be hung onan upper end of the connector.
 13. The washing machine according toclaim 11, wherein the connector has one or more stepped portions. 14.The washing machine according to claim 12, wherein the connector has arecessed portion, and the deco-member has one or more protrudingportions corresponding to the recessed portion.
 15. The washing machineaccording to claim 1, further comprising a positioning structure todetermine a position of the control panel assembly when the controlpanel assembly is mounted to the front surface of the cabinet.
 16. Thewashing machine according to claim 15, wherein the positioning structureincludes at least one recess provided at one of the control panelassembly and cabinet, and at least one protrusion provided at the otherof the control panel assembly and cabinet, so as to correspond to therecess.